Struggle for Space

8/7/2019 Struggle for Space

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I

THE GREE/V'AIG OF

BY TOM FOX, IAN KOEPPEL & SUSAN KELLAM


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6n6JleSta'r-f HE GEEE'I I"O OF

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bylan KoeppelSusan ellam

W6&t6 NEICHKXHOOI)OPEN PAG(OAITIONNe ghborhood Open SpaceCoalitionNew York, New York


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DedicationOne Women'sWay:A Tribute o Mrs.Carthan

It's rare n lhesedays o metand knowSoodpeople, or lhey'roften "extraspecial" n our ives.For hy may havebeen n the family,aneighboror friend, earsof griefyou feelwhen heydie.It's rare hesedays hat hosespecialpeople rejustordinarypople,who love ohelp others.Forthey everstoptoearthraiseheydeserve,or they'reoften runningsomewhere lse, o help another.Yes,Mrs. HattieCarthanwas like that,aspecialperson'msure, odwould lso ay.For herwas no obstacle oo big, norproblem oo difficult,with Mrs. Carthan,therewas alwaysa way.I rememberMts. Carthanas President fVernonAve. T & T giving he firstof manypa(ies or the block.For with Mrs-Carthanheadingacampaign, verything enerallywent assmoothas a clock.And wasn't t Mrs.Carthan eading hedrive o sava beautifulMaSnolia ree?For f her effortswere or a goodcause,wasn'tMrs.Cafthanalways here,gaving fherself, nselfishlyaYes,Mrs.Ca(han had a dream hatbautifulneighbo oods nspireothers, obe just a5good.She ived hat realityand hegood ife,alot more than we wish we ever could.Yes,Mrs.Carthan asapersonwhooved

children,alwayssayinS, hello youngfleople,"wherever he went.Forshewasa kind,generous,incereprson, s a sister, motheror friend,sheseemed heavensenl."It's no small wonder hat we're Boing omiss ouMrs.Carthan,ou're n nsparataonto usall .For twascomfortingtoknow, f we everneeded ou, all we did was usl call.One woman'sway, Mrs.Carthan'sway,an example,of how thingscan be done.

To her success asa coalitionof youngand old workjnS ogether, eaping hebenefits ollectively,as one.Yes,Mrs. HattieCarthan, our trialsandtribulationsn his ifeareover, hegood afe,the goodfight.Memories fyou aretchedorever n themind for you werc a beautifulperson,o us"a beaconof light!" -tove always,Terrylohns, Crandsonof Mt. Nez Chapman.


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557

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I aDteoI Lontentsvi i l AcknowledScmcnts

ix PARTONE - IHt STORYCHAPTER NE:CARDTNS ND PARKS ORTHTPTOPII2 Re-6reeni.B he Urban EnvironmenlI TheCity't Rura History5 Takin8 o theSlreets. thc 1970's/ A Threatened eilrceCHAPfERTWO:PAINTINC HTTOWN GRTEN

CHAPTER lXlIHE BIG PICTUR[67 TheSearch e8ins69 Talki igWithTheCardeners69 The Need or Recreallof7r UrbanFamers

CHAPITR EVEN:WHTRTDO WT GO FROMHERT?77 SlrenglheninEhe Panne4hip78 A Quenio. oi Balance79 Som-"Re.ommendlt ions8l T.n YeaRFromNow8l HardQu.(ions ThatMustBe An$lered8.r The Trsk Force

PARITWO _ THE INVENTORY91 5 tc Count9l S l le )istr ibut ion99 Prole.tType102 LandUs e

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I l6 lDit i r lCapir.r ll l8 AnnualCapita,Tolrl A.nua CapitalI 19 A.n!a SwealEqu v,Totil SwedlEquityl2l AnnurlM.rnlendn(.,TotaiMaintenn..e122 Crnnd ota126 Sampl.SiteProl i les112 5!rvey lvlethodo s!I l l 5l .rt in al Technlquer1t4 Qu51o.naircI J5 Data Processrng116 Inventory pdatePARTTHREE THT RISOURCTS140 T-".hnl..rlAst stanceOrgrn zatbnsln Ncw YorkCit)142 NewYorkCity 'sCommu.itrC.,dcnsI50 ADerican ommunit fCardeni .s ssociat iof154 Carden 8157 Orsanizrt ional159 5ileDcsiSn160 UrlFn LandUseafd DeiiBn

Setting he SIageTesting h-"SoilRcvitr l iz lnghe SoulhEronx

P anning n a CrandS.ieTh. Ncighborhoodehahil i talors2)22232l25

CHAPIER HRttrIHE ENDANGTREDARDTNSThc Land NcgotirtoE

CHAPTTROUR:THTCARDENTRSPTAK UI4l4a

Thc Cadener's woes

CHAPTERIVE:PULLINC OGETHTR5l)25li5i5575962

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FowardLisaCashdanDirector, New York City land ProiectTlust For PublicLand

7he Strugg/eor Spacedocumentsthe r ichhislory f thecommunrtypenspace novementn New Yurl Cit ) rndraiseshcr i t rcr ls\uesor he uture.t sastudyof and storyabout he peoplewhohavebeen nvolved n the crealionof NewYork'scommunityparksandgardens romthuniquevantagePointoi theNeighborhoodOpen SpaceCoalitionThispastdecadehaswitnessed nexplosionn communitynterestndevelopin8and protectinS pnspaces npari, his canbe attributedo the ncreasedavailability f vacant and eft as he legacyof the forcesof disinvestment,abandonment, nd decay hat sweptvastareas f ihe citv in the sixties Bul as hisimportant esearch ffort llustrates,herehasalsobeena growingawareness n lhepartof citY esidentshat hey can haveaiong-telm mpacton helutureiabricon thecityscape.while oarksdePartmentsavetraditionallyassumedhe role of providingthcity's naturaland recreational reas,fic.al contraints nd a lack of manpowerhavehamperedheireffortso provideopenspacewhere t is neededmosl in NewYork'sow-income ighdensityneighborhoods. ommunitygroupsnavefilled thisvoid bv assuming Sreaterresoonsibi l i tvordesiSning,eveloping,ndmainraining eighborhood arksandsardens.heir ommitmentnointhusiasm,backedup resourcesnvestedby an expandingnetworkof technicalassistancerganrzat lons,r lvarefoundaliong,orporat iont ,ndnew ocalgovernment tograms, asbeen he key tothe srowthof the movemenlFdrsome ime,however, herehasbeenarecoenized eed or raw dataconcerningthe ;umber of established ardens,heextentof communityparticipation.inheirformationand management/ nd theamountof money nvestedn theirdevelopment. hen the Neighborhood

OpenSpace oaLit ionasformedn I980,its leaders ledgedo make his researchhighpr ior i ty. ow hal he esultsre n, hecase or increasedundingand siteprotectionprograms ppears trongerhan

Forexample,e nowknowthat 48siteshavebeencreated nd maintained v over11,000 olunteers,nd hatmil l ions idol lars avebeen nvestedn theirdevelopmentto ate.We also nowthatthemostcritical ssue ited bY he majorityotpeople ntryieweds fulufe accesso theland. t is mperat ivehatSovemmentleaders ecognizehvalueof openspacesnow, 50 hat al least hossitesoncity owned propety can be protected orrulure eneraIrons.Although ity officialshavebeenslow orecognizehe bnefits f providinglong{erm security or communitygardens,in lheir hasle o receive op dollar orcity-owned fopedy,The-slrug8/elorSpaceeminds s hat hevalue i a vacantlo t cannolbe measured v itqdevelopmentpotenlial lone.From he avagedandscapeoflhe southBronx o the denselv opulatedareas f Manhat lan,ommunity ardenEhaveprovided refuge ndavibrancy o citY\iie that s essentialo our hea\lhand we\lln thr5 tud\, ,he NerehborhoodPen5prce or l i t ionhatama+ed hrghly sefulbodv of new informationhroughextensrvefreld esearLhndhundred! f inrerviewtA5 hehr lt omprehent le nJlv5i\ l Ne$YorkCity 's ommunityatdensndpatks,tdemonstrateshe movement's rowlngrnalurityand sophistication.t also rarseshost fquest ionsnd ssuesthatst i l lmusteresolvedor the cornmunitvopnspacemovement o grow and prosper'Thedevelopment f an integtated penspace olicywil l onlycomeaboui hroughfie.oordinated effoftot commun|ty roups,cityofficials, nddevelopers ho recognizethe imoo anceof creatingand pfeseNrngour neiehborhood arksand gardensThefindingi of this research ffort-are strongtslamenl o the importance l communlNinvol\ 'emerlr revrvrntsulu 'curbd'r pFrspaceuse ssues.


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PrefaceDuring he 1970'smanyNew YorkCityneighborhoods xperienced cycleofdisinvestment,bandonment, rsonanddemolition hat eft thousand5 f acresofrubble o mar he urban andscape. t thesame ime, he City's nearbrushwithbankruptcyaused reduct ionn manybasicmunicipal ervices.he'tof t " Citylervicssuchas sanitation nd parkmaintnanceerehitpart icular lyard. heeffectswere devastating,speciallynlow' income ommunit ies.acanrorsbecame umping roundsorunscrupulousIrashhaulers. ocalparks hat were notmaintainedwere renderednoperable yneglect ndvandalism.Community roups ll overNew YorkCity oughl ack.By elaimingvacantandand reat ingvar iety fcommunityardensand parks,neighborsworkedwith eachother o impfove he qualityof their ives.Nonproft organizationsrovided echnicalassistanceo localgroups.Foundations,banks, orporations, nd governmentprogramsrovidedundinS, ater ialsndtechnical ssistance.y he 1980's,heluccessof theseeffortswas evident,butlherewas no accurate nformation n thesystem hat had developed.l l wasobvioushatcommunityparlicipationwas havinga major effectonvacant and,existingCity parks, treet reesand the other open spaceamenitiesn theCity. nApri l1980, conferenceas eid spanofthefirst esearchn hisphenomenonlconnunity Open Spacer Francis,Cashdan, nd Paxson), nd theparticipantssuggestedhat major nhibitor tohefunherdevelopmentf hemovement asthe ackof coordination etween he orSanizationsand ndividualsnvolved.n November fthatyear,The NeighbofioodOpen SpaceCoalitionwas ormed o addresshatneed.Onof thfirstproblems hat had o betackledwas he lackof information n thecommunty parks ndgardenshathadbendeveloped. he CharlesH. RevsonFoundation layeda major role in thedevelopment f our youngorganizationwhen t provided upport or theCoalition'sfirst esearch roject an inventory fallthecommunity ardensndparksn thCity.Threie ld esearchersisited 10

communily ardensur inghesummer ndfall of I982. The nformation rom he fieldsurveywas ed into computEat the StateUniversity f New York at Ononta ormacroanalysis.t was hen ransferredo theCoali t ion'sewly cquired ppleComputerforfurther nalysisur ing 983.An updatewhichdocumentsl l hesites sof anuaryI984 dent if ied48communityardensndparks n I55 acres f New York hatwerebuil tand ended y 11,171 eople.Thestuugg/eor Space s he resultof ourresearch nd the storyof the peoplewhohavehada major mpact n thequali ty fl i fe n so manyNew YorkCityneighborhoods. he storybrings hstal ist icso i fe. t sa celebrat ionf thehardwork of thousand5 f dedicatdpeople.Community esidents, hiianthropists ,horticulturalists,ducators, ureaucrats,planners, andscaperch tects, onstructionworkets,bankers, orporate xecutives/summer outhworkers, awyeB, ealestateexpertsand professionalsf al l sortshavecombinedheirheart , oulandmuscleobreathife nto urCity. ewYork's it izens,nativeand transplanted, ho aregivingofthemselvesor heir amily, heirneighborhoodnd heirCity.

ChapterOne describeshe beginningstages i the movement nd puts t intohistoricalperspective. hapterTwoexploreshe evolutionof the movemenr-ChapterThreedescribeshe major hreat othe longevityof the sites.ChapterFourdescribes hat is happening rom theindividualgardeners erspective. hapterFivesthe toryoftheCoali t ionndChapterSix containsa descfiption f the inventoryfindings.ChapterSevenmakesrecommendat ionsndasks er iousqustions bout he future.The Inventory ectioncontains hanr,graphsnd tat ist icsthatdescr ibeowmanyfacilities herc are,where hey're ocated,who's nvolved, hy people repanicipat ing,ho owns he and,howmuch and s nvolved,hevalue f thesystem nd much more.Whaveused hemostconservative umberso avoid heappearance i exaggeration.he Resourcesect ionncludsnformat ionoucanu5e oget nvolved if you're nterested.The productionof thispublication ooklongerhanwe or iSinal l y nricipatd.would ike o thankb6th heCharles .


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Revson oundation nd the Coalition'sBoardof Dirctorsor theirpatience. omethingshavechanged uring he dsign ndwriting of the Stfugg/eor Space.Themovementsgetting oth biSgerand etter.One hing hatdiminishedhe strength fthe movernent ince he writing of the textwas he oss f ElizabethLiz)Christy- izwasa pioneerwho playeda major tole inNew YorkCity'scommunilygardeningmovement.Her strength nd vision was amotivation o manyot us who "8otinvolved",and arestill nvolved.Herdeathleaves sdiminished y oneand we wil lmissher. Her life, however,broughtmanypeopleand talents nto the movementandher contribution o our City and itsneighborhoods as tremendous.Traditionalmechanismso. parkdevelopmentnd maintenanceo lonserapply n manyurban enters f theUnitdStates.Open space,however, s becomingmore mportantas populationdensilyandleisureime ncrease.ublic art ic ipat ioncan play a majof role in open spaceprovision n the future.The Sttug9leolSpace ncreases ur understandingf thisphen meno andoffers ome rectio sandquest ionsorthe uture.am gratfu lfor theopportunity 've had o work n hisfieldandshare n thevitalityofthe commifted eoplewho areworking o makeour City a betterplaco live.

Communitygardens re makinga bigcontribution o the qualityof life in NewYorkCity and manyother cities.Theyareproviding leaner, ealthierommunit ies;local recreation esourcesj uality ood;positive ocial nteraction; ducation orourchildrenand a symbol hat he peoplecareenough o get nvolved.Theireffo(s shouldbe supported nd the tpirit of communitypart ic ipat ionhould enurtured.yhelpingpoplehelpthemselveswerctaking ctiontowarda belter uture.A future n which hegovernment, usiness/ onprofitagenciesand hepeople,worktogether or agrenerNew YorkCity.wouldn't hatbe nice!Tom Fox

AcknowledgementsThe esearchndpublicat ionf his ookwasmadepossible y thegenerous upportof lheCharles . Revson oundat ion.TheNeighborhood penSpace oalitiongratefully cknowledgestheontributions tthefol lowingndividualsnd rganizat ions.Without heir nvolvement he StruggleorSpacewould have neverhappened.ohnAmeroso, onyAntonellis,AppleComputerCorporationCommunityAJfairs rogram,MarkBaker, aulBauman, ikeBlumnfeld,oelleBrisson,isaCashdan,AlexandraChristy,Liz Christy,Meg Clark,KenDavies,EpsonAmerica nc., ElizabethFaulkner,Crace Fisher,ack Flanagan,Ma(in Callent , ldoChir in,WendyCibson, aneCrundy,HeleneHollendeLepkowski, ennyHoltman,TessaHuxley,TerryMcHugh nglesbie, aren ore, eslieKameny,Sara evine, Edward uft, ColleenMctvoy, lesseSmilhNoyesFoundation,NancyRosen, imSchwab, ickShorr,Tom Smith,SUNYOneonta aboratory orComputer raphics Spat ial nalysis,Melissa upthen, andaTribble,MelissaWeberand New York City'sTenaciousCarden& ParkEnthusiasts.


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PARTONE:THESTORYCHAPTERNE:GARDENSANDPARKSFORTHEPEOPLE


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Re-greeninghe UrbanEnvironmentHattieCarthan efusedo sit backandwatch the gradualdeterioration f theBedford-Stuyvesantection f Brooklyn.VernonAvenuewasa tree inedblockwhen sheboughther house here n1953. n i f t lemore hana decade, nlythree reeswere left o shade heincreasinSigns f neglect n hestreet.On the nextblockwasa rareSouthernMagnolia, ree hatholds ts eaves l lwinterandwelcomeshe earlyspringwith blooms f largewhite lowers.when the tree became hreatened yplans o demolishhe building hatprotectedt from he cold winterwinds,Hattie aunched campaignhatinvolvedhe ocalcommunity.Webegan ysavingonetree,ndnowtherearehundreds{ new rees, ommunitygardens,nda renewed ense fdignityin Bedford-Stuyvesant."Attheage f83,HattieCarthansnowthePresidentf heMagnolia reeEarthCenter, ocal ommunity rganizationformed o offeradviceandsLrppono hegrowinB umber f communitygardenersn Brooklyn. heexplains,"Even houghwe're iving n a city,wehave o bringasmuchof the countryhere swe possiblyan.After l l ,whodoesn'tovenature?" attie, ndotherslike her,havebrightenedargeareas fthe City for scores f New Yorkers-Ultimately,everyonebenefits rom theCity's ranstormation-Twelve ears go, nemptyotwhichoncehousedhe Ruppert reweryn heYorkvil le ection f Manhattan aslitteredwiih brokenbottles, iscarded

tires, labs fconcrete,woodandbricks.Today he RuppertCreeo s one of thebiggestommunity ardensn Man-haftan,nvolving 0 famil ies orkingoneanda halfacres, ndproducingapproximately20 bushels f freshvegetablesnnually.When heRuppert reen ommunitygardeners egan o investigate ays opreservehe and sapermanentardensite, he City informed hem hat theproperty asworth oo much.Risingrealestate alues n thatparticularurbanagriculturalarcel scalatedtsvalue o $10mil l ion,makinghetomatoes orthone housand ollarsapiece. he mportancef maiotaininggreen pen pacesn hemiddle f NewYorkCity's apidly edevelopingneighborhoods,owever,maynecessitateayjng he price.Throughouthe 970's,as hevacantlotswere converted o gardens ndparks,echnical ssistanceroupsfunded y hepublicandprivate ectorranprogramsrovidingverythingromseeds ndmaterialso construction,horticulturaland realestateadvice orlocalcommunity rganizations.yI983 therewerenine echnicalassistancerganizationsnvesting2.6mil l ion nnually ndemployingver 0individuals.The NeighborhoodOpen SpaceCoalit ionNOSC)wasormedn 1980 ouniteNew YorkCity's ommunitygardening,ark nd echnicalssistancegroups o network nformation, hareresources nd take a stronger tand ntheCity's lanninS ndpolicypn openspace evelopment. i thamembershipof 80 dues-payingrSanizations,heCoalit ion as eguno confrontheCity


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and the real estate evelopers, ot astheiropponent, utas heirco-worker.For xample, henhund eds fplantswere uprooted rom a communitygardeningiteon West96thStreet ndBroadway, ndrelocatedn a specialsectionof Riverside ark o make oomfor a high-tiseuxury ondominiumbuilding,he community ardenersaskedhe Neighborhoodpen SpaceCoalit iono help hemholdonto heiroriginalSarden ite.TheCoalit ionworkedwith he ocalCommunityBoardChairpersono organizemeetingbetween he developer,hislawyer nd architect,hecommunitygardeners,nd heTrustorPublic andand he CreenCueri l las,wo memberorBanizationshichhad eal state ndhoft cultural xpertise.f terninemonthsof negotiations etween he realestate eveloper, rthurZeckendorf,hegardenersnd he wo technicalassislanceroups, compromrse asreached hat inteSrated 7,000 squarefootgardenwithin he condominiumplan.Theproposed otusCommunityCardenwil l be completedn theFallof1984,and ncludes itt inB reas,rees,shrubs, pond, lowergardens,nda$75,000 ndowmentor maintenance."l 'm sure hat heSarden ashelpedsales," ays eckendorf, ho hasalready oldmost fthe300apartmentsin the Columbia ondominiumbuildinS. e feels hathisgesture fgoodwil l , the nclusion f theBardenwithinhiscondominium lan,wil l addSreenife o what s primari ly brick,glass, ndconcrete ity.By he ate1970's hereweresome2,000 cresbf acantand wned y heCity of New York,' acres eft vacantby

uncompletedrban enewal rojects,the exodus f the middleclasso thesuburbs,nda cycleof disinvestmentconsistinBf abandonment,rson nddemolit ion. venwith the highestpopulation ensity f any city n thecountry, 4,500 eople er qoare ile,New York s i l ledwith available penspace or creating ardensndparks-An inventory omplsted y theCoalit ionn anuary, 98:l onf irmshat143acres, 02acres f which rverebricks nd rubble, avebeentransformedhroughhard work andcareful lanningnto410 communitygardens ndparkshroughouthe iveboroughsf NewYorkCity.Many fthecommunity rojectshat heCoalit ionidentif iedspart f thisSrowing etworkare ocatedn low-income, ecliningneighborhoodsuch s heSouth ronx.But here realso number fprojectsnmiddle-incomeeighborhoodsnQueens nd Brooklyn, heresinglefamily weil ings redominate,swellasin heupper-incomereas f ManhattansuchasCreenwich i l lage nd heUpperEast ide. t i s hisdrama ftransformation,he struggleor spacethrouBhouthe ive borouBhs,hat hisreportdocuments.

TheCity'sRuralHistoryLike56 other i t ies crosshecountry, ']New orkCity odayhasawell-developednddiverse om-munitygarden ndparkmovement.Among tsprogenitorsre heSouthernBlacks homigratednto heCityduringthe 1930'sand 1940's; he Cerribean


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lslandersndHispanics ho settledprimari ly uringhe 1950's nd1960's,and the Asians, nd Centraland SouthAmericans,hodurinShe 1970's ndl9B0'shavemadeNew York heirhome.Forall these iverse roups,gardeningecame n opportunityorecreate famil iar nvironment ithfamil iar lants nd raditional ethodsof cultivation.Social cologist urrayBookchinfondly ecalls rowing p n NewYorkCityduring he 1920's nd 30'swhenthe ethnicneighborhoods erebrimming ith the astes ndsmells fthe Old World.The tal ians,nparticular,rewmanyof theirownvegetableso satisfyheir cultural astes.Now, n Harlem, escendantsf theSouthern lack opulationrowcottonin reclaimedacant ots o give heirchildren sensef histo.y nd radition.The earliest rSanized rbancommunity ardeningffort nywherein the U.S.was aunched uring hePanic f 1893, period f industrialslowdown nd unemployment.rDetroit 'sMayorHazenS.Pingreecopedwith thegrowingcongestion ndsqualorn the nner ity by providinggarden lots n municipallywned ndprivatelyonatedacanturbanots. hesuccessfullanwasquickly opied nother i t ies Omaha,Baltimore,Chicago, hiladelphia,nd New Yorkamong hem.World War I brought he LibertyCardens. ttheheight f theDepressionduringhe 930's,here as etanotherrapid ncreasen thenumber fcommunity ardens ation-wide. ewYorkCity's arden rojectn 1934consistedf 300 plots, l l of them

locatedn Brooklyn. urinShe nextyear,with two expertgardenersemployedby heFederalWorkProjectsAdministrationWPA) t eachSardensiteandonesupervisorverseeingheprogramsn each borough,close o5,000gardensn vacantots, otal l ing700 acres, ereestablishedn fourboroughs f New YorkCity.By 937,however, i th heendoftheDepression,hatmovement adended.An improved conomy, urplus oodsanivingby thecarloads,nd hesevering f the FederalWPA ieliefprogramdestroyedhe communitygardening ovement vernight. nlyan occasionalroupof enthusiastsstaked ut plots or another eason ftertheDepartmentfWelfare iscontinueditscity-widegardenprojectbecause fthe ackof rel ief unds nd hepronouncementhatgardenprojectworkersdisrupted ther WPA projectswhen heysought mploymenturinSthe off season,With hecominS f WorldWar l, heCityof NewYork gain nnouncedhatal he acant ity-ownedandwouldbeavailableorVictory ardening.Peoplethought t was heir ight o garden ncity and," ecalls neof thegardeners,"but manybecame iscouragedhenthey earned bout hedigginS, oeing,and ugging ater n the hotsun.Yettherewasnever vacantot,"The National ictoryCardenPro-8ram, imedat reducinghepressureplacedon the ood industryby the war,reachedeak roductionn I944 when20 mil l ionVictoryCtrdens ielded 0percentof the freshvegetablesconsumedn the UnitedStates.New Yorkers utdown heirhoes


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again,however,when the war ended.Mosthouseholdsereno lonSerdependent n hegarden lot oprovidea source f nutritiousood.Notonlywasthere an end to food rationing,but aburgeoningrozen ood industrymadepackaged egetables welcomeadditiono the amilymeal.By l94Bthere was ittle saidabout vacant otcultivation.

Taking to fhe Streets nthe'1970's

The rendof community ardeningin NewYorkCityhasshown he de_velopment f gardensuring imes tstressnd hesubsequentisappearanceof theSardens nce he need s8one. twouldappearhathistorysnot n avorof preservingrban penspace spermanentommunity ardens.heresa basicdifference, owever,behveenthepreviousardening ovementsndwhat sSoing n now."l 'm seeinghegardensil l a need ndevastated eighborhoods,ot ust togrow ood, utto lean panuglypieceof prope.ty, ' xplains ancyRosen, tthe Department f CeneralServicesCreenThumb,he NewYorkCityprogramhatassistshe ocalEroupsntheir management f city-ownedopenspaces.Peoplearegetting nvolvedasbest heycan n neighborhoodrehabil i tation.or hem,vacant otgardenings a way o cleanup theircommunity.n hat espectwouldsay,yes, hismovement i l l havemorepermanence.

Thecommunity ardeningitesthroughouthe City even ook morepermanenthana typical easonalgarden. hecommunity eople aveplantedrees, aintedmurals, ui l tbarbeque its,anderected enches ndplayequipmentor thosewho are ooold or too young o garden.Whilevegetableardenstendo ook habbynthewintertime,hecommunity ardensand parksdotting he New Yorkstreetstoday ookcaredor anduti l ized. heyare appreciated y the neighborhoodsthatsurroundhem.One reasonor hisappreciationsthat many of them now servea criticalrecreationaleed.Deficient arks ndrecreationalacil i t ies,special lynlower ncome reas,ave lways eencommon omplaintn NewYorkCity. n1932, only 14,827acresor sevenpercentof the entirecity had beenreservedor he ecreation f itscitizens,a percentaSemaller han hatsetasidefor recreation n any of the other enlargest i t ies n America r the world.With only 1 9 playgroundsor 1.7mil l ion hi ldren nder12years f age,therewasonlyoneplaygroundor everyI4,000children.rWhen RobertMoses, ommissionerof Parks uring neof NewYorkCity'smostdramatic evelopmentalhases,begancreatingpublic parks n theI930'sand40'shedid l i tt le o remedythesituation. s he master ui lder flonesR6ach nd Heckscher tatePark,Moses aw ittle easono create greenspaceof a few benches r a seesaw rtwo. Evenknowing how importanthesmallparkswere o the City'spoor, hereformers ad no way to stop Mosesfromgivingtohe well-to-do " aseball


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Ho e Avtl e Co,rdrnilf Crr'let in lh5'!th 6r'nx


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.E.o.ne.rJloo anri l iar. uring:EL-8 , M.rnhattaneighborhoods: rle o5tapproxirnatelyhree cres, r_:^ percent f community ardens nd.: '\ i . .{t thedevelopmenloom: r_t nues,Manhattan eighborhoods: ":- .r( d $ ith he addil ionaloss i__.e.rn(lhaliacres f gardcns: ' i : p. rrksf 1984,1985. i:e\enty ivepercent f the City's:o:rrunitv gardens ndparks reocated ncity-ownedandbecauseheCt\ s he argestwner fvacantots. n-9-8 lheCityestablishedperationCre-"nThumbsa program i lhe:lep.rrtmentfCeneral erviceso easeihec v owned itesora dollar yeartoronproii t omnrunity roups uchasc ock associations,ommunity enters,andschools,or hepurposef creatingand maintainingardens. articipationrn heprogram ave ardenersccesso

Crty esources,uch s encing.rndoil.There renow about 00organizationsholding reenhumb easesn gardenslhrouShouthc Citv,mostof which aresh()r! lerm,or oneVear,Though css onrmon,ong-lermcontrol 5 beginning()occLrr. wentvfourcommunity roups,hrougha variety f dif ferentechniques,aveformed and rusts ndpurchasedheirlandoutrightrom heCity,aswell astromprivateand wners, ndnowholdtit le o heproperty.heTrustor PublicLand, hich acil i tateshedevelopnrentof these and rusts, orkedwiihCreenThumb6o develop Citypolicyfor long-termprotectionwithout theconmunityassumingwnership f thesite. n May, 9B:1,he irst onS erm,f ive o tenyear easeor a communitygarclen asunanimouslyassedy he

New YorkCity Eoardof Estimate.Highlyvulnerableo development,however,are manyof the gardens none-yeareases. hen hevalue f thepropertysSreaterhan$20,000,hecommunity ardens notel igible or along-termease.When heDivision fReal ropertiesecidessite s prime"fordevelopmentnd s eadyo besoldto fea/estate evelopers,he one-yearCreenThumbease il lgeneraliyotberenewed.TheClintonCommunity arden,nthe rapidly edeveloping estSideofManhattan,ad no problemwith itsCreenThumbeaseor he irst hreeyears f thegarden's xistence. uringthat ime hegarden ontainedindividual egetablelotshat edmorethana hundredarnil ies, colonyofItal ian oneybees, covered ompostpile,a largewall mural, lawnareaadorned ith masonry enches, ndageodesicome orgrowing egetablesyear-round. espileheir abors,hegardenersound n their ourth earlease clause tatinit would not berenewed gain, ecauseheCilybelieved he propertyhad become oo"valuable" o be used or ustcommunily ardening.Fearinghatmany onrrnunitiesouldlose ll hat heyhadworked orduringthe ate 9l0's andearl), 9B0's,members i the NeighborhoodpenSpace oalit ion ublic urgedheCitytodevelop comprehensive,ntegratedopenspace olicy. n response, ayorKochannounced,n June1982,hecreation t the New YorkCityOpenSpa.eTaskForce. or he irsi ime heCity,community ndprivate ectorrepresentativesil ookat heir xisting


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open space, ommunityneeds, xistingCity agencyprograms, nd alternativedevelopment nd managementptlonsin a coordinated anner. he basisorthisproposedoordinated ffortwas hebelief hat an integrated penspacesystem ombining he resources f thegovernment, anks,corporations,foundations,echnical ssistanceorganizationsnd ommunityesidents,canprovideamorecost-effectiveystemwhich smore esponsiveo communityneedshan headhocpoliciesurrentlybeingpursued.MichaelDirzulait is, o-chairmanftheTask orce nd heDirectorof ol icyandPlanningor heCity'sDepartmentof General ervices,hinkshatacomprehensiveityplanwil l beformulatednlyafter ommunitySardenersealize hat somesacrificesmustbe made.Whilesome ardeninBsiteswill be preserved, thersmust beslated or otheruses, uchas housing.Thedwindling izeof themunicipalbudgetmight be the stronSestmpetusfor integratinghecommunity ardensandparks nto new housingn theneighborhoods here ealestate aluesareclimbing igherhansweet eas njuly. lt has he potential o benefiteveryone.The saleof real estateputsmoney n theCity'scoffers, nd lets hedeveloperssumeinancial esponsi_bil i ty, aking otsoff the City's ong istof abandoned roperties. he neiEhbor-hoodwil l havea higher uality om-munitygarden. hedeveloper ene-f tsbecauseommunity articipationin maintenancendoPerationensures well-usedand, herefore,saferparkadjacent o the housing.open space dvocalesealize hatthe

decisionseached ow in Manhattanwil lsetthe recedentforhehundredsflandpatcelshtoughoutheotherboroughs f NewYorkCity,parcels hateasily ouldbecomehreatened,n thecomingyears.The lossof anYof thegardens nd parks n Manhaftan,therefore,i l l have epercussionsforthecity-wideopen spacemovementThrouShouthe United States,farmland reservationistsre ealizingthe ol ly of haphazardndunplanneddevelopment, nd in somestates tnctagricultural reservationawshavebeenenactedo conservehe oPen andbefore his country oses ts capacity oproduce ood in sufficientquantities.TLike uralagriculturaland,urbangardens nd parksarea finite resourcethatonceost annot e egained. hilethemaintainencef the urban itescannot e ustif ied olely n terms ftheiraSriculturalroductivity,heimportancef urban reen pacessmanfold.Creenerymproveshe qualityof theurbanenvironment.hePhYsicalproperties f treesandother plantsinclLrdeheir bi l i tyo actas leansersfair pollution, uffers gainst ind andsolarradiation,emperaturemodif ers,andnoise ontrol lers.ardens anreduce he runoff rom stormwater,al lowingain openetratetheoils atherthan nundatehe City'ssewage ystem.Vegetationn an otherwise oncretejunglewil l attract i ldl i feandnurturehuman ife.3Children anbe aughto understandthe natural nvironmentn a commu-nitygarden r park.A directoneto-one elationshipevelops s hechildputsa seed n theground nci


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watchest germinatendBrow, ndlearnso take esponsibi l i tyor i fe.Anothermportantessonearned ychildren hogardens hat oodcomesout of the ground, ot out of thesupermarketn a canor a box.A community ardenern Brooklynwho has aughtmost f thechildren nherblockhow o garden ays,lt keepsthem ccupied.tgiveshem omethingto do, somethingo look orwardo.Theyhave o planand hinkahead.They're oncerned.heywatch heweather veryday.t keepshemgoinB.They're Jways xcited."How foolhardyhen,whenacommunity arden r park sbulldozedto makeway ora buildingwithout nyconsiderationf hevalue f the and san openspace.People ave o askwhat it is exactly hat they want topreseryen theirneighborhood.Sometimest requires tradeoff.Condominiumsrea bigeconomic ushto the area, ut are hey eallymoreimportant han he Barden?" sksKenneth owald romConEdison."We should et people nowwhatcan be done o improvehequality ftheir ives," aysHattieCarthan.Eachof usshould skwhatwe can do andhowwe canbest o i t. We must akeresponsibi l i tyoreverything. e can-not ake he natural nvironmenttorgranted."She nderstandshata rowof lchibaneggplantsended y citygardenersproduces ore hana bushel f purplevegetables-t raises he chances hatNewYorkCitywil lsurvivehe1980's sa placewhere ts esidentsan alsomature nd lourish.

l - Enimat. f New YorkCity 's acantand n-ventoryn 1979. run or Publi .Ld.d,Ne\tYorkCi lv

7

Mcmbetshiporg.rniTationsf the Ameri(.rnComn'unityCard-"n e Associat n. Miwaukee,Wit.().sn 1984Tom Ba!set,Connunitv (; .^leninE tiAnet i .a ln9J-1980 Masteu hess, UnveFiry oi Calilornid,SantaCruz, 1980RobenA. Caro, The Po\r.-, Brcket RabenMose! and the Fail o/ Netr.Yo . V ntageBookt, Dvision oi Randoh louse, Ne\Toh Fox,"Tow.rds th--(:re.lion oi a NeuYork Ciiy Opcn Spa.e l .sk Forcc 'Nc shbofhoodOpen lp.r( Coa tion. \e$York,1982.Oprrlion Grccnlhumb sas reorSrf z.l inl9nl a.d subscqu-"nltheprcgrirh ls bc.ncal ledDCS l epi lmcnt f CeD-"ra e^i(e\l. Teve.eMacFadven. .rtlnia U.'un.l. rhcR-pDew.r/, 4Drcf i . ! ' ( JD!l / Frr, f . HoltReinharlndWinston,cs Y.trk, 98tAnneWhislon pirn, frrrrt .Caroerj L.b,rNnturc ndH!n, d /)estg.,8a!. Book! \ e$York. 98l


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CHAPTERWO:PAINTINCTHETOWNCREEN


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Br/, .( J , i l , , r r ,r r ,r r r r r i l r . J l . i r r l t r i lF.I inn( (Jre j r rD. l l ! .


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TheCrusadersSetting he Stage

Evenafteran awarenesst tneenvironmentadPermeatedheAmerican onsciousnessn the eally1970's,t was rowned pon o touchaplant n anyof heNewYorkCilyparksIt was lle8alor private itazenso carefor a street ree,collect horsemanure,makecompostwith veSetable aste, rstore oolson a vacant ot.Finding utwhoowned vacantotcould ake earsand heCityspenthousandsf dollarsenclosinghe otswith cycloneencesratherhan rying o make hemuseful.The ycloneences id notdeter nadhocSreeningommitteeromapproachingn Elizabeth treetot onManhattan'sowerEast ideTheSroupunraveledhe ence ndbuilta series farbors hich heycovered ith Sreenclimbing ines. heperi ls f gardeningwitholrt lease, owever,meant hattheir nit ialSreeningffortwasbulldozed nd eplacedy a parkingot. for trucks.Undauntedy heexperience,everalmembers f theEreeningommitteewenton to form heCreenCueri l las,small olunteer roup hatbelievedtwould ake adical ction o breakthroughhe ed ape hey ncounteredntrying o "cleanandgreen" he City'svacant and.Manyof theearlyCreenCueri l las ereout-ofwork Professionals ho hadskil lsn horti-culture,microbiologY,nd and_scapearchitecture,n addition ocommunitYrganizinS.Whenderelicts,amPing ut on avacant ite n hecorner f Bowery nd

HoustonStreetsn a cardboardbox,were ound rozenodeathn 1972, heCreenCueri l laseSotiatedith heCityandwere inally l lowedo begin eSalgardenhere. he BoweryHoustonCommunity armCarden, s t hasgrown o becalled, tartedutonone otandrapidly xpandedo three. hegeneraleelingwas hatany useof thelandwouldbebetterthanllowingmorepeople o freeze o deathon theneglected ite.Even o, hegarden asmore hanjustananomalyn hederelict- inhabitedBowery ection f Manhattan.t wasastimulusor passersbyho beganoconsider imilar ardeningffortsntheirown neiShborhoods.heynotedthat hegarden t Bowery ndHoustonhadnosoil, utwasallsif tedubble ndcompost-When heCreenCueri l lasrealizedhat heyhad he echnicalexpeniseo traingardenersn othersectionsf the CitY o conve theirvacant ots o ferti leSreen reas,heybegano hold raining essionsor ocalcommunityesidents."Beinga CreenCueri l lameantcontributing lotof timeand echnicalassistanceo thegrowing umber fgardenshroughoulhe City. t madesensehat hepeoplewho ioinedwerelocal PeaceCorps ypes rom thepost- 'fowerpower'Seneration,"ecalsLizChristy, neof heSroup'soundersTheearlyCreenCueri l lameetings ereforumsor a series fdiscussionsboutwhatopen pace hould e n heurbanenvironment.imAddice, n architectfromYalewith ideas boLlt ow plantsandbuildinBsould nteract, ttendedthe early orums, sdid PhilMecklin,landscaperchitect ith expertrsen


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playSrounds. thers ttended ho wereconcerned oreabout he ecology ftheCity.Eventually,heCreenCueri l laphilosophyeveloped."Themainpoint hatwe stresso newgardenerss hat heyshouldn't edependenln outsideesources.atherthanwaiting or a truckload f soii oarrive,heyshould o ahead ndmaketheirown compost.t mightnotbe aspretty,but at east t proveshat heyareserious bout tartingheBarden,"explains essa uxley, hecurrentDirector f CreenCueri l las.In 1975 he CreenCueri l las adabout35 members ho ran heorganizationiteral ly ut of theirownpockets.f f ivedollarswas neededorstamps, omeoneook he ivedollarsout of hisor herpocket. heiraddresswasa PostOff iceox.Withoutan ff ice,their elephone umber hangedfrequently,ndmembersook urnsansweringalls t heirhomes. steadyinf lux f volunteersasalways n handto take he calls rom prospectiveSardenersnd indmemberso visit hesites ndoffef he necessaryssistancefor starting he garden.Itwasaiso uring 975 when he irstgreeningonference as heldat theNewYorkBotanical arden. heCreenCueri l lasinally eceived ff icidlrecognitionhen heybroughtn urbangardeningxpertsromalJaround hecountry o show he New YorkCityoff icials ho attendedhe conferencethat t wasn't ucha radical dea ogardenn heCity. ncit ies ikeBoston,SanFrancisco,hicago, nd Detroit,networksof urbangardeners ad beendeveloping.t wasduring he ol lowingyear,however,hat hevacant ot

cultivationonceptn NewYorkCJtycameot age,TakingActionWhile he al lships ere ai l ing ownlhe HudsonRiver n recognitionf thenation's icentennial,waveof nterestin gardeningn NewYorkCity's oilsuddenly roke ntohershores. heCreenCueri l las nded heir ongcontroversy ver whetheror not toremain n ad hoc groupand receivedtheiroff icial eaJ f jncorporationfromtheState f New York. n addition,RepresentativeredRichmond fBrooklyn,heonlyurbanmember f heHouseAgriculture ornmittee,succeededn pushing programthrouShheU.5.Dept.of Agriculturethatwouldaddressi tyBadening.A demonslrationrogram ,as tartedinBrooklyno est he easibi l i tyfa U.S.Departmentf Agriculture rbanCardening rogram. ornellUn versity 's ooperativextensionSeryice ascharged ith developinglhispilot progranr.ohnAmeroso,University t Ceorgia raduatenagronomy ho hadspent ouryean nVietnam spartof the InternaliondlVoluntary erviceseachinS ekonBDelta armers etterechniqueso growrice,washired o train ow incomepeople o Srow ood n theCity.Amerosoound hatNew YorkCity'sgrowing nvironment ds 1otunlikeVietnam's. heconBeslionf buildingshadgiven heCity.rsemi-tropicaigrowinB eason, akingt idea/ of atevegetabiearvests.Thereareno kil ling rosts," meroso xplained,"lhe groundust feezes t the endof November."


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TheCornellDemonstrationrojectinBfooklyn asso successfulhatanational rogram as unded t threemil l ion ollars nderpandedo nciudeI6 dif fefent it ies round hecountry.eNew YorkCjty received 500,000oexpandtsprogramo all f iveboroughs.Althoughhestaffwascomprisedprimari ly f Cornell griculturegraduatesho knewmoreabout roprotationshanbrick ecycling,heCornellExtensionff,ces ereestablishedncooperationiih existinggroupshatdid understandew YorkCity'sparticuJarardeningabits.nManhattan,or nstance,ornell entedspacewith theCouncil n theEnvironment,quasipublicagencyoperatingout of the Mayor'sofflce.TheCouncil n the Environmentadalready ublished n excellentpamphlet n c i tystreetsndopen pacewhen heyhiredLizChristy,resh romthe ranks f the CreenCueri l las,oInauSuraiehe newprogram/Plant -Lot,h.rtwouldprovideree oil,plants,rees, ndshrubso manyofthecommunity roups.n addition o thesorely eeded lant-a,LotfoBram,izsucceededn legalizingomposting,establishinggardeningool lendinglibrar!, ,nd aunchingtherowTruck,muiti-purposeehiclehatserved savital inkwith hecommunity foups.Not only could he ruckdriverstransporteedlingsrom he BrooklynBoLrnicalardens r soil rom lueens,theycouldalsoofferon-siteechnicaJadvice.Testing he SoilThegrowing umber f city armersharvestingushels f vegetablesrom

thecity soil raisedncreasingoncernandcontroversyver hesubject fheavymetal ontamination.eavymetals rea distinct lass f elementswhich nclude ead, admium, ickel.mercury, ndzinc,ai lofwhichaboundin heurban nvironment.heir r imarysourcesautomobilexhaust,swellasindustrialmissionsnddemolishedcity buildinSs. hen housandsfyoung hildren ating hipsof swee!tastingead-basedaint n inner-citybuiidinSsegan evelopingasesfleadpoisoning,ead-basedaints erebannedrom nterior se.Butas heolderbuildings eredemolished,hechipsanddust rom he eadpaintalsopenetratedhe rubble.Of particularconcernwere hose emolit ion iteswhichwerebeginningo be developedlor gardens ndparks.ln New YorkCity hatconcern asbroughto a headwhen nforrnatjonlrom Boston howedhat heirheavymetals i tuation asa big problem.Whilea desirableeadcoLrnt asconsideredess han250parts ermil l ion,a fewgardensn Boston erefound o haveas muchas J,000 o10,000 arts ermil l ionof lead n thesoil. hiswasbecause any fthat ity,sdemolisheduildings ad,unri l1950,been madeo{ wood and freelycoatedwith lead-basedaint.WhenCornellCooperativextensionegan tspilotprogramn Brooklyrl, anyofthe reenCueri l las ad equestedh.rt heexpetise f theUniversity c used oconduct eavymetal ests n the NewYorkCitysoil o determine hetherhernetals adaccumulatedn suchquantit iess o pose heallh azard.Soilsamples ere aken o test or


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Th. .a i t , r r l H(r .r l l .u .e.Jr Cl lF Fi ' r i rn rhe5or1hBn,r


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heavymetal utthe estingtselfwasotdoneduringCornell 'sirst ear n theCitybecausehesamples ere ost. nthe second eara stronger leawasmade. t was he CreenCueri l las hofinallydemandedhatsomethingedone, ince heyweredevotingmanyhours f their imeadvising eopleogrowfood aswell as lowers.The trug8leovertheeavymetalsedto theestablishmentf an Ad HocCommitteen ToxicSubstancesn theUrbanFnvironmenthich ncludedAnitaCuran, henNew YorkCityCommissionerf Health, ndMartyCallent, iceChairman f the CityPlanning ommission.We made ifeveryuncomfortableorCornell ntj lthey inallyagreed o test or the heavymetals," ecalls essa uxley.As t turned ut,Cornell idn't ackinterestn hepotential ontaminantsmuchas t lacked he necessaryequrpmento carryout he ests. nceNew York State pent he$60,000to buy an Atomic AbsorptionSpecta-photometer,ornellfoundhat heextent f the ead n the soil , 00-250parts ermil l jon,wasconsiderablyessthan nBoston.nsubsequentfactheetscomplied y theCreenCueri l las,prospectiveardeners ere old to havetheir oi l estedree fcharge yCornellExtension.heywerealsogivensuggestionsn using rnamentalinesto screen heirgardensrom traffic,andother echniqueso reduce hepossibi l i tyf heavymetal ui ldupn hesoil.Citydwellers, ager o get heirhandsn thesoil, ouldbe assuredhatgoodSardeningaspossible ithoutfearof heavymetal ontamination.Theheavymetal ontroversyielded

more hanconcrete ataon growing"sate" vegetables.t proved o thoseinvolvedn hegreening ovementhattheycouldcommandespect ndaccomplisheats f somemagnitude.Revitaiizinghe SouthBronxAt hesameime hat heCrowTruckwas inding tsway aroundhe iveboroughsndCornellwasbranchingout, he SouthBronxbegano presentdif ferentossibi l i ty.ackFlanagan,enyearveteran t theNew YorkCityPoliceDepartmentndcommunityelatjonsdetective ith he 41stPrecinct, ,FortApache"),approachedhe headof theBronxCouncil n theArts, rmaFleck,about aising oneyo ake bus oad fkidson a day ripoutsidehe stif l ingconfines f thedecayingenementbuildings. heconversationhat ookplacebetweenFlanagan nd Fleckbegan o head n a differentdirectionwhen heyboth ealizedhat twasmoreimpoftanto changehe kids'senvrronmenthan ust o removehemlor anatternoonxcursion.f ter l l , heSouthBronxwasa section f theCitythathadn't eceived ttentionromanorganized roup, ther hanwarringstreetgangs, n years.TheBronxFrontier evelopmentCorporationwas ormedby lrmaandiackas an attempt o revitalizeheareathrou8h ommunitynvolvementndeconomic evelopment. hi leneitherhad hadanyhorticulturalxperience,theydevelopedschemeor helpingodevelop ewcommunity ardens.heyfelt that by convefting he vegetablewaste rom he HuntsPointTerminalMarket,he argest holesale roducemarketn theUnitedStates,nto ich


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compostinB aterial,heycouldprovide ommunity roups ith opsoilto cover rubblestrewn ots.Theoriginal i te hat heychoseortheirnewprojectwas enacres mack nthemiddle f theHuntsPointMarket.few ofthe merchants, owever,houghtthe projectwould attract odentsandobjectedo the composting perationnthecenter f the produceerminal. oinstead, hey securedour substandardacresalong he edgeof the EastRiverand il led t in with crushed rickandconcrete.n 1976,afterworkin8 or ayear o secure he appropriate ermits,jack and rmaalsoobtainedech-nicalassistancerom he InstituteorLocal elfReliancenWashinSton,C.and beganheircompostinganchThe sheerenormityof the destroyedareasof the SoLlthBronxpresentedunique pportunityor undertakingIarge-scalerojectwhereopenspaceplanningmightbe used o complementneighborhoodevital ization.n thewordsof Art Buchwald, uthor ndsocial ommentator:l t 'sgotmore penspace hananycity n the world.Yotlcansee or miles. heonly hing hatcompares ith t nmymemorysBerl injustafterheSecondWorldWar. thinkthateverybody ho hasanythingo dowithurban lanning houldmake visitto the SouthBronx."I t was PresidentimmyCarter'shistoric alk hroughhe burnt-outsections f the SouthBronx n October,1977,whichopened popportunitiesotake n a project f hat cale. ppalledby whathe saw,Carter romised$500,000or parks ndrecreationspartof his$10 mil l ionproposalorimmediate id o thearea.

Thiseventually ecame 1.2mil l ionin thebudSet fthe FederalDepartmentof the lnteriorand the New York Stateoffice of Parks nd Recreationo beallocatedor community ardenparkdevelopmentn the SouthBronx. hatmeant eallocatingfundsormally ivento projects uch aspreseryingheRedwoodForests.nstead,he moneywasused o cleanup andreveSetatehevacant ots hatwere eftafter ui ldingghadbeen andalized,orn apartby streetBangs, lackened y arson, nd eftIO tot.The arge umof money hatcamefrom heFederal nd State overnmentsto the devastatedectionof the Citybroughttogether anydiverse roupsoprovewhatcouldbeaccomplishedy acoalit ion ffort. heSouthBronxOpenSpaceTaskForcewas ormed with theBronxFrontier evelopmentCorporation,he Instituteor LocalSelf-Reliance,hePeoples evelopmentCorporation,ommunity choolDistr ict0, heTrustorPublic and ndothers o setan interesting recedent tmatching sweat quity"andrecycledgarbageo federalmoney. BecauseheCityhad itt lemoney o spend n theproject nd heSrant equired 50percent atch f ocalunds,heon_sitesupervisors ere given he taskoftal lying ommunity olunteer orkhours, ecycledbricks,and beamsromthe building nd elephone oles. l lthiswasassessedt a market alue.Recycled ricks, or example,werewortheight ents ach, ndused spartof theCity'smatch.Eventually,$300,000n local abor, r icks ndcompostwent to match he federaldollars. heCitycontributed900,000


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by providing ideWalkmprovements,streetrees, ndby rebuilding largeretaininS allatone site ocated longthe BronxRiver.ln ustunder wo years,3 of theoriginal15 community rganizationswhichwere nvolvedn theTaskForcehadcompleted heir projects.The siteswere designed nd built on lotscoveredwith a fresh ayerof compostwith thehelpof the ocal esidents,singtechnicalnformationrom heWashington-basednstitute nd othelNew York echnicalassistance roups.Evenmore mportanthan hephysicalconstruction f the gardenswas heimpact hat they hadon therehabil i tationf theneighborhoods.othepeople n the enement uildingssurroundinghegardens,hesuddentransformationf theirbleakenvironment epresentedcaring and eld utto help hem mproveheirownneighborhood. hatcity plannersndgovernmentff icialsadbeen nableooffer he residents f the SouthBronx,a Sroup t communtty ardeners,organizersnd echniciansadprovided y al lowingocal esidentshetreedomo urnoverthe irtand ubble,and renewan area hat had beenconsideredead.The remarkable ansformation f thewastelandntoopengreen paces ctedasa catalyst or othergroups nterestedin thewelfare f the SouthBronx.Anurseryand greenhouseomplex, orexample/ ettled n a formerlydesolateone-acreoton Bathgate venue, ot arfrom he oarofthe elevated rossBronxExpressway..L.|.E. arms, n armoftwo not-foFprofit ocialserviceorganizations,he Bronx 000Local

DevelopmentCorporationandtheCroupLive-lnExperience,etupbusinessn 1981 In ts irst ear, .L. l .E.Farms mployed 5 ocal eople uringthesummer ndproduced 0,000 ighqualityherbs ndcut lowerswhichwere sold o theCity's inest estaurants."We don't lookat theSouthBronxasaliabil i ty, utasan opportunity,, ,saysCaryWaldron, founder f C.L. l.E.Farms,which has eorganized s afor-profitbusiness nd hasustreceived91.2mil l ion rom he PoftAuthority fNew Yorkand NewJerseyo buildaI6,000squareootgreenhousenddevelopheirbusinessurther.

The AlliesFriendsof the Parks

The maturingprocesshatoccurrednaturally ithin he oosely oven, utexpansive etworkof greening rgan-izationsmeant hat heifphilos-ophies ndgoals egan o coincidewith hose f the moreestablishedparksSroups. he I976 NewYorkCity iscal r isis, hich orced heCity o cut backon i tsparksmarntenencerogram/ ecame nincentive or encouragingheestablishedarks roupso shareheirconcerns ith thecommunity ar-deners.Whetherworking n mani-cured awns, lanting xotic lo\a,eringperennials,r compostingnimalmanure,all the groupswant to keepurbanBreeninglive.TheParks ouncil, or instance,which hasbeendevoted ince 926 lothepreservatinndmaintenancef New


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York City'sparks, s often nvolved nstruggles hich set mportantprecedentsor the entireSreeningmovement.Forexample, he ParksCouncil ecame n outspokenopponentof the City'sPlan o "trade"the arge ublicplaygroundt FirstAvenueand42nd Streeto stophoLlsingconstruction n the wo parkshatweredesigned spartof the TudorCitydevelopmentn the 1920's.HarryHelmsley,who owns the property,promised o restore nd maintain heunprotected pen space n his historicapartment omplex n return ortheriShtto buildhousing n thismappedNewYork City parkoneblockaway.All theconcernedparksand gardeninS roupsfeared hat the swapwould createadangerous recedent f tradingawayvaluablemapped arkland.TheParks ouncil elped ommunitygardens nd parks n the earlyyearsbyincludinghem n theirgroup iabil i tyinsuranceolicy.Thissavedsigniticantmount l money orcommunity roups. heHorticulturalSocetyof NewYorkalsoassistedacantlot gardeners y sponsoring ardeningworkshops nd offerinS irect echnicalassistanceo communitygardeners.The Botanic ardensn Brooklyn,Bronx,Statenslandand Queenshavealsobecome l l ies n the revital izationof New YorkCity communitieshroughgardening.orseveralearshemaintelephonenumber or the creenCueri l las asat heBrooklyn otanicalCardens. heBronxSroups ave oundthat he New YorkBotanicalCarden nBronxPark an bea wonderful ource fperennialpring ulbswhichare ugupeachJune o make oom or thesummer

annuals. heMunicipal rt Society fNew York, a 90-year-old ivicorganization, as ecognizedhebenefitiof hese ctiv t es.Last ea heygavea specialcertificate f merit o acommunitygarden, he Dome Project.The certificate eads:"lnto the orbiddingandscapefwelfare otels, ol lapsingenements,and heparade fdisadvanta8edouthscame ohnSimon, andle n hand, oteachandcare or children ornunlucky, hi ldren verwhelmedy theobstacles f society nd heenormty ofhuman ain. hevulnerable,heneedy,the troubled the childrensocietyoverlooks,he embraces.His DomeProject s a school,a garden,andmanycommunity rograms."

The TreePeopleAmongthe ost otable rusadersora 8reenerNew YorkenvironmentsHattieCarthanwho triggered he streettree movementwhen she successfullymanaged o save he Magnolia ree nBedfordStuyvesant.n recognition fHattie'swork, the neighborhoodestablishedhe MagnoliaTree EarthCenter,and formerMayor Lindsayinitiated he now defunct"TreeMatchProgram"which allowed he City toprovidesix street rees or every ourpurchased y block associations.The struggleor more street reesexpandedwhen the New York CityStreet reeConsortiumwas establishedin 1976 o provide nformationndliterature o New Yorkers bout heimportance f street rees.TheConsortium,rustrated y City


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regulationsrohibit ingitizensromworkingwith their streetrees, esiBneda h,,r'elve-hourourse o teachcommunityesidentsow o care ortheir trees.After ive yearsandthreedif ferent arks ommissioners,heConsortiuminallywon approvaloroff icial erti f icationf their rainees-Today hereareover 500 CitizenStreetTreePrunersn the City. TheEnvironmentalctionCoalit ion, neotthe Consoftium embershat akesmulti-faceted pproach o urbanreviti l ization,as roduced i lmon hevalue of street rees n the City and acurriculumorstreetreeeducationnscnools.Planning n a CrandScaleAnother it izen-supportedrban arkplanning roject s he CatewaYNational ecreationrea, n extenslvededicationf open paceorpublic se.Establishedn 1974andspanning26,000 cres f landandwater,Cateways he irsturbanpark n theU-S.NationalPark ystem. arSelyresponsibleor i tscreations heCateway itizens ommittee, hichformed o pressor a federally undednational ark n theurban nvironmentof New York-TheCommittee'sorkdidn'tendwith hepreservationf Iargetractsof land or the park.Tenyearslater,heyare ti l lworkinSo insurehatthis mportant esourceeceives largeenough hare f Federalunding ordevelopmentndoperations.Theparknow containshe argestcommunity ardenn NewYork,coverinS ver wo acres ndprovidingmore han400Sarden lots.Cateway salsohe ite f the early ityCardeners

Harvest air,whichceldbratesheendof thegrowing eason ith hayrides,vegetable nd flower contest, nvironmental ducation ooths,music,dancing, nda petting oo.Theeventoffers realboostto he 8,000gardenerswho attendhisannual vent.The NeighborhoodRehabilitatorsThe stewards f the urban andmovementnclude otonly hoseSroupsnterestedn preserving ardensand parks,but alsogroups nterestednpreservinSntireneighborhoods.heemergencef blockassociationsndCommunity lanning oardshatwereconcerned bout he deterioratinScondition f New YorkCityneighborhoodslosely aralleledhegreening ovement urinS he I970's.When hemunicipali tyai ledodevelopa constructiverogramo revital izeheCity's eterioratingommunities,anyneighborhoodsdopted series fselfhelpprojects. ousing ehabil-i tation,itter ampaigns,treetreeplantinSs,ndanti-crime lertsostereda growing ense f pride n t he de-cayedareaswhere he long-term esi-dents adneitherhe resourcesor heinclinationo move.Theseehabil i tationfforts ontrastedsharply ith heprivate evelopersndtheCity,whoviewed ehabil i tationn atotal lydif ferent ay.Especial lynManhattan, holesections ereupgraded,orcing he ong-timeresidentsutandencoura8ingn nfluxof peoplewho cou d afforda muchmoreexpensiveypeof housing. ldbrownstoneseregiven acelif tsndtenement ui ldings ere orndown omakeway or uxury ondominiumsnd


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the new breedof residents.What theCitycalled ehabil i tation,heneighborhoodsalled gentrifcation"TheHouding onservationCoordinatorsocatedn heClintonareaof Manhattan, place ti l lknownasHell 'sKitchen,s oneexamPle i acommunity-basedousing rganizationthatactively elpsowerincome eopleretainheirhousing. hi lemuch ftheirworkconcerns roblems risinB ithlandlords ver ackof proper ervices,suchas heat,hot water,or necessaryrepairs,heSroupsalso nvolvedn anopen spaceprogramwhich offerstechnical ssistancen horticulture,landscapemprovement,rchitecture,andsoil.There avebeen ixcommunity ardensnitiated nder hesupervisionf theiropenspacedepartment.ne of them, he ClintonCommunity arden,ncludes solargeodesic ome which is used o Srowvegetablesear-round or the com-munity.Not onlYdo thecommunitygardens rovide tabil i tyn the rapidlychanging eighborhoods;heyalsoprovide menitiesor he ong-timeresidents ho arebeing orcedout bytheir andlords ndbY heCitY.Another rganizationstablshednthemid-1970'sn responseo NewYorkCity's iscal r isis nd o helpstimulateblockassociationevelopments heCitizen's ommitteeor NewYorkCity-TheProBram's.N.A.P-Self-HelPNeighborhoodssistanceroSram)Srants rovide P o $150 ocommunity-basedolunteer roupsorsupplies ndequipmento helpspruceup their ocalneighborhoodTheCitizen's ommittee lsosponsorshe annualDressUPYour

NeiBhborhood ontest,undedbYfashion esigner oll ieParnis, hichover heyears asawarded 300,000nprizemoney o a wide range fcommLrnityroupsponsoringardens,parks, laygroundsndstreetreeplantings.heLaPlacitaarden lubofConey sland, hichcreatedcombinationeSetable/f lowerardenbetweenwo abandoneduildings, asan award ecipient, swas he EastFlatbush ommunity ardenComm ttee, hose allmural acingheorganization'sardenProvidescolorful resenceuringwintermonthswhen hegardentself s batren.The FundersBesides oll ieParnis,here remanyindividuals ho areprovidingr.rndsororganizationsndSardeningrojectsthatarecommittedo improving ewYork's eighborhoods.Richard brons,or example, asbecomea major suPPorter t thegreeninS ovement Y unding heCouncil n the Environment'sPlant-a-LotndCreenBankprojects.long-time upporterf social erviceprograms,e sawcommunity ardensandparks shaving othsocial ndphysicalmpactsn low andmiddle-incomeneighborhoods.These c-tivit ies emove rbanbliSht ndbeautify he.rea," Abrons omments"Peopleeally eta kickoutof t ,and t 'sterribly mportanto theCity it canchanSe wholeneighborhood." ebelieveshat t s mportantor undersosupport reening ctivit iesn theneighborhoodsthateedhem hemost.Abrons xplains,There's otofmoneyavailableor Central ark, ut t 's


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important o sLlpporthesesmallerspaceslhatean omuch ocommunllyresidents." e began YProvldrngmoneyromhisown oundation,uthisenthusiasmoon ed o he nvolvementofhis amilyhrouShheLouis ndAnneAbronsFoundation.ince1978, heAbrons aveconlributedenerouslyothe Council 's reening rogramOver $2.6mil l ionannuallYs nowbeingprovided Y oundations,corporationsndbankso he echnicalassistancendcommunity roups hoareworking o esablish ardensndparks hroughouthe CitY. Thiswell-being f NewYorkCitYcommunitiess our well-being,"explains enKowald f ConEdison,"That is why we are interesteonfunding heSardeninSroiectshatimproveheneighborhoods"Wemakepeople ealizehatnot al l bigcomPaniesrebull_headed,"aYsFraser eitel tChaseManhattan ank,whichhas ontributedver l85,000 othe Neighborhood PenSPaceCoalit ion's ummer outhProgramhathelps leanup thevacantots Seitelthinks hatmorecity-based orporationsshould et nvolvedn reiuvenatinSsectionsf NewYork hroughhecommunil)Sdrden\dnddrl ' Brookl\rUnionCasandMorganCuaranty rustareamong hosewho have'

Anothers theVincentAslorFoundationhichhas unded vanetyof openspaceprojects,rom largeparkprojectso thecommunlty aroens'i indaCil l ies,heFor'rndation'sirector'explains,We find t PadicularlYrewardingo seewhatsmall mountsTmoney anaccomPlishn thesecommunity paces,ike heJetterson

MarketCommunily arden nd heRuppert reenCommunity arden lnthe1960's heAstor oundationundedmany fthevest_pocketarks,hesmallvacant ots hatwereconvertedo greenspaces ndet he LindsayAdministration nly PaleyPark nmidtownManhattanti l lexistsoday'The easonhat hegrants re enerouslygivennow o thecommunity ardenssbecause,nlike hevestpocket arKs,theyhavea strong onstituencysupportinghemanda large moLlntlcommunity ackinS CommunltyBardensrea Sreat ehicleor bothcommunitynvolvementnd mprovedaesthetics,"i l l ies ommentsThe .M. Kaplan und, oundednI945 by iacobM Kaplan ndcommittedo hepublic nterestl NewYork, syetanotherundinS ourceorthedif ferent roups iming o beautifyNewYorkCity'sParks ndgardens"We haveworkedwith street reegroups, ommittees rganizedo setupstreetmalls,and efforts o preserveparks," aysSuzanne avis,Admln-istral ive irector f the Fund Sheaddshat he rend owards ommunitygardens asbeenparticolarlyxcit inghecauset involves omanyPeopleworking n l i tt lewaysWhileAstor ndKaPlan re he womajor oundation onors,he istotpotentialourcesffundss onS nougrrto keep nygrantwriter ccupiedBothFord ndRockefelleroundationsavecontributedoopen pace evelopment,aswell asotherphilanthropicroupslikeTaconic, cherman,essie mithNoyes,Charles - Revson,ndRobertSterl ing lark.TheNewYorkFoundation, ewYorkCommunrty


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Trust, nd he Fund or heCityof NewYork groups articularlyoncernedaboutNewYorkCity havebeenequally enerous.Thecombined fforts f communjtyresidents,ctivists,echnical ssistanceSroups, overnmentgenciesndfunding ourcesave eguno ake ootand lourish. ommunity ardens nrJparks avebecome cornmonphenornenan manyNew york Cilyneighborhoods.great ealof t ime,love,muscle nd moneyhasgone ntothecreation f thecommuaity ardengandparks. ocal esidentsave oundthatcreatinghese reen asess hardwork,but hatchallengeeemsrelatively asy omparedo thenewstruSBJe keepinghegardenssopenspace esignatedorcommunity rse.Land alues re ncreasingn NewyorkCity,and heg.rrdenshatcommuniryresident5herish s ocal esourcesrenow fall ingprey o thewaveof de,velopment ittingManhattan,shores.

9- Mutrav chum.r.k,l000 Farn\,ptannednLots n NcwYork, New yotk t incs, Aprt )t,,197/.


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CHAPTERHRETHEENDANCEREDCARDENS


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The LandOwnersSquatters'r ightsn a city ike NewYork,where he development oom ispromisinSo ref i l l heemptymunicipalcoffers, repracticallynon-existent. oral l thathadbeenaccomplishedy thepainstakingonversionf abandonedpropeny nto gardens nd parks, hecommunity eople ouldsti l lbe orcedoff the and n iusta moment's otice.The'si8ht f a bulldozer n the

community ardens asbecqmingoofamil iar .Thegreatest ortionofthecommunitygardensndparks, bout75 percent,slocated n city-ownedand.Manyofthoseotswere acant ecausetheyadbeen bandonedy heoriginal wners.As hepropertiesncreasedn value, hegardeners antedsomeassurancehatthe andwouldn'tbe developed utfromunder hem.At that ime, heCityestablishedperation reenThumbnI978 asa program ftheDepartmentfCeneralSeNiceso leasethe ity-ownedIots or a dollar a year o non-profitcommunity roups uchas blockasso-ciations, ommunity enters,hurchesandschools,orthepurposefdevelop-ingandmaintaininghegardens.WhenOperation reenThumbirstbegan,t wassolely leasinSorganization,rimari lyor ve8etablegardensn raised eds. hroughchangen heprogram'sdministration,however, reenThumb asslowlybecomemuch more of a gardenandparkdevelopmentrogram.n additionto ssuingtsCreenThumbeases,t nowprovides encing,soil, trees,shrubs,tools,and echnical xpertise.

TonyAntonell is,ssistantirector fCreenThumb,xplainshe mportanceof workinSwith hegroups n theirgardeninglans eforeurning veranymaterials.Oneguywantedo buildhisraised egetableedon a slant.Whenasked imwhy,he responded, 'Socanwater it better'." The porposeof raisedbeds n a gardens o give hegardenersdefinitewalkwayshroughhe raisedvegetable nd flower beds.Theyalsohelphandicappedndsenior it izengardeners ecause hey don't have obend o do theirgardening.onyalsoencourageshe raised edsbecausehegardeninBsdoneprimari ly n demo-l i t ionsites nd here sn'tenough oilto cover l l he ubble eftbehind. achtruckload f soilcostsCreenThumb$600 o $800."we don't ive hemallthe umber tonce,"saysAntonell is.We let hemsucceedwith the firstsectionof theirraisedgardenbedsand then we givethem the restof the lumber.We aremostlyworking n neighborhoodshathave lready ada lotof ai lure- hat swhy we plan or success."There renow about600 organi-zations oldingCreenThumbeaseson gardenshroughoutheCity.Theproblem fholding nto hegarden itesforthe onB-term, owever, asnotbeensolved. heDivision f RealPropertywithin the Department f CeneralServicesecides hichsites i l l Boontheauction lock orsale o real statedevelopers-onsideringhat heDivision fReal ropety scomposedfex-bankers nd ealestate rofessionals,i t probably ives hemni8htmaresothinkabout aluable itypropertyeinE


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leasedo he ocal ommunitiesoronedollara year.Even o, f there s aninterested uyer orthegarden roperty,theCitymaysimply efuseo renewheCreenThumbease."just because omeonewants o buytheproperty,hatdoesn't ecessari lymean hat hegardenwil l bebulldozed," aysAntonell is- hi le theCity s nterestedn sell ing f f theproperty,here reways f helping utthe rulyexcellentroups hohave uta lotof work nto heir arden ite.Onenew provisions a long{erm easingprogram hichallowshegroupo easethesite orfive o tenyears.f thegardenis on propertyhat sassessedt a valueof $5,000,hegroupwouldpay$120ayear or heir ease.f i t is assessedt$10,000,heywouldpay$240.Themaximum entwould be $360a yearplus he costof l iabil i ty nsurance.AlthouSht representslarge inancialinvestmentor hegardeningroup, tdoesguaranteehem the propefty orlonger hanonegrowing eason,ncases here he communityorganizationsexperiencinginancialhardship,heCityhas nstitutedpolicyofforSiving0 percent ftheyear'sentin return or volunteer abor,However,fthe property s assessedt more han$20,000, the8ardensnotel ig ibleforalong-termease. hus,manyof theManhattan ardens il l be excludedfromprotection y long erm eases."l worked very hard or the five andtenyear eases," xplains enDavies,Director f the Departmentf CeneralServices reenThumbrogram.Themainpurpose f the eases to givepeoplemoreprotectionor somethingthal heyhaveworkedveryhard or.The

Iease ff icial ly ecoSnizeshat hissitehasbeena success,hat hisgroupappearso bea viable roup, nd hatwewould ike o give hema chance oprove hat they can maintain he siteover he ong un."CreenThumban also et he groupsknow if there s an interested uyer ortheSardenite, hereby ivingthemirstnotice hat heycanbidon thepropertyat publicauction. enDavies emarks,"We routinely ull propertyhatmayend up on an auction ist.A fewthousand ollars n theCity's offer,comparedoa good ommunityacil i ty,would not be a good radeoff."Evenso, he neighborhoodsostapproximately31,000 quareeet,or tenpercent, f theircommunitygardens/parkso developmentnManhattan loneduring 980-83,andas his rend ontinues,he neigh-borhoods re acedwith an additionallossof40,625squarefeet in98485. 'o"we have ever old sitewhichwestrongly elieved hould emain sacommunity arden.here ere wositesthatwereminimally eveloped ndpoorlymaintainedhatwereauctionedoff. There have beena numberof siteswhich markedhe boundariesor newindustrialarkswhichalsowentoff orauction," aysDavies.Kenexplainshatmanyof theotherthreatened r lost8ardenswere onprivateproperty ndurban enewal iteswhich areadministeredy theDepartmentf Housing reservationand Deveiopmentnd hadbeenintendedorhousing eforehegardenseverwent n. He feels hat, althoughpossessions nine-tenthsf the aw,these ardens erenot raised n


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abandoned ropertyforwhichherewasno plan.Thehousing lans ame irstand the gardens ameon top of thehousing lans, nowinghatthe ousingwasgojng o be built.Now here s hisbig ssue f whichgardens houldremain ndwhichshould esacrif icedfor development."A strongconflictexistsamong he City agencies verwhichgardenshould emaintainedscommunity esources,ndwhichshould e soldso hat heCitycanrealize prof it n the andandcollectrealestateaxes.While tseems nlikelythatanyof hecommunity roups ouldactuallyafford o purchasemuih of theland once it hasbeenmarkedas"prime" by a realestate orporafionwith considerablenancial acking,there s an optioowhichcouldmaketheirownershipeasible: land rust.

TheLandNegotiatorsBegunn New England oie hanacenturyago, he "town commons" orland rusts aveserved seffective andpreservationools n rural and urbansettinSs.heTrustor Public and TPL),lormed ten yearsago in San Francisco,California,s a modern-dayonprof it

Sroupthat ashelped atisfythe eeds flocal residentso own propertybyhelpingtheommunityorma nonprof itcorporationhatcan hold and n trust,or rather,preservehe areaas openspace.In the al lof 1978, he "l l th StreetMovement" nd he El SolBri l lanteCommunity arden roups nManhattan's owerEastSide equested

the assistancef the lrust for PublicLand,which had recently stablishedreg;onaioffice n New YorkCity.Followingheadvice f TPL,hegroupincorporated o that it couldcooperatively wn the propertyas anon-profit and trust.They purchasedthe our ots hatcomprisehegarden ta restrictedCity auctionand now holdtit le o the and.TheTrust or Public andhashelped24groups cquire ver33 acres f landin New YorkCityvalued tg4 mil l ion."Another99 cres, orth Bmil l ion, rein the process f beingpurchasedoradditional roups. hese land .ust, ,propertiesange rom a singlevacantlot in the Bronx o l 1 acres f land nStatensland."l never elt commifted o preservingallofthegardeningites," xplains isaCashdan, eadof the New YorkCity

LandProject fTPL.Sheadds, ,Someofthosesites rebetterused or housing rcommercralses.We ust nsisthatopenspace egivensome tanding."Addressingtheity 'searthattheeopl6can't maintain he sitesafter hecorporationssetup to form he andtrust, isa esponds,l tel l hem o takethe isk. he easonhattheCityownsomuchof the and n the irstplace sbecause rivatenterestsbandonedhesites. hat swhat's o nfuriating.heCitywil l take he iskwithsome f heseslumlords,ut not with heirowncitizens."TheTrustor Public and lsopointsout that heCitywil l gain rompreserving omeof the land,becausepropertyvaluesgo up arpundawell-maintainedark.Cashdandds,"The dealsolutions or heCity o


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provide dequate arks. hat'swhypeople ay axes. eopleivingon FifthAvenue on'thave o paywith heirlaborand ove o uti l izeCentral ark.Why should omeonen BedfordStuyvesant?"It isprecisely ecausehecommunitiesaveworked o hard ocreateheirown recreationalndaestheticnvironmentshat heyareresistantow o osingallthattheyavegained. heMagnolia reeEarth entercouldclosebecause f inadequatefunding.Cornell 's rbanCardeningProgramwas slated o be cut out of the19B3-84 .S.DepartmentfASriculture'sudget;CreenThumb'sfundingsas enuous s hatof anyCityprogram,and the major backers f theCouncil n the Environment'sPlant -LotProgram re eluctantodonatear8e mountsfmoneywhilesomanyof theirsites rebeing yed orotheruses. uppert reen, heClintonCommunity arden, heDomeProject,TheCarden f Eden nd he WestsideCommunity arden aveall becomethreatenedy Manhattan'surrentdevelopmentaloom-While the heavymetalcontroversyshowedhat hegreeningrganizationshad clout, and the SouthBronxprojectproved hat a coalition effoncouldaccomplish maiorundertakingn agrandscale, he fact that realestateinterestsrebeingpitted gajnstheinterestsf thecommunity ardensndparks eople s pull ing hem ogetheragain. his ime hestakes rehigherthanever,

The Landless"We'renotgoing o sitdown n ffontof thebulldozers. e don'twant o benasty.We ustwantosave urgarden_, 'Those re he sentimentsf MalloryAbramson, key igure n theCommiftee o Save he ClintonCommunjty arden,he irsturbanAllAmerican election arden. or hreeyearsheClioton ardenersadnoproblemwith theirCreenThumbease

on a West 48th Street ite ocated nManhattan,n area nownasHell 'sKitchen.Butwhen they went to renewtheir lease or the fourthyear, heyreceived contractstatingt would notbe renewedor a fifthyear.The reason:the and s nowconsideredprime" orrealestatedevelopment.Early n 1982, heCity'sDivision fRealProperty dvertisedheClintonsitein their HiShlights f UpcominSAuctions"ora sale rice f 9325,000.In aneffort o preserveheirgarden,hehundreds{neighborhoodesidentshatcultivatehe ndividualegetablelots,tend o thecolonyof l tal ianbeehives,and maintain smallsolar eodesicdome that is used o grow vegetablesyear-round,reworking n a proposalto protect he gardenwithoutwithhold-in8 revenuesrom he City.They eelthata compromiseolutions notonlypossible,ut necessary.heyarebeingassistedn their effoftsby the CreenCuerri l las,rust or Public andandHousing onservationoordinators."People removing nto heClintonareabecauset iswhere hings rehappening.here sgoodtransportation.he arge ommunty


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gardens another ice hingabout hearea," saysKennethKowald rom ConEdison ho supportshegardeningprojectsbecause f their beneficialimpact n the neighborhoods.Whenpeoplemove in, they want to preservethe nice hings bout he area."As partof a coordinatedetterwritingcampaignrom he Clinton esidents,overa hundredetters avealready eensent o Mayor Koch to encouragedecision n heendangeredardenhatwill be n everyone'snterest. he ettersdescribehegarden sa simple uttranquiletreatfromheCity's ustle ndbustle, meetinSlace,hehome ftheannualClintonArt Show, nd animpoftant omponentn the annualN nthAvenueFestival.Most mpoftantly,he Sardens hebiggest reenopen space eft in theClinton rea. We wouldhave o movethegeodesicomeand hebeehiveftheybulldoze urgarden," aysMalloryAbramson.But don'tknowwherewewould move hem."The etters ndother ctivit iesavebeen uccessfulnstal l ingheauction lans, utas he ealestate alue ises o do thechances fauctioir.NewYorkCitygardeners,r imari lynManhattan, avewatchedhreeacres ftheir communityeffortsbecomecondominiums,arkingots, ndhighrisebuildingsn the ast wo years.To somepeople hat figure ades ntoa much arger tatistic. ousing e-velopments,hopping enters, nd ndustrial arks reclaiming pprox-imately mil l ionacres achyearofAmerica'srime Sricutu al and. fewacresof open space o New Yorkers,however, oesnotgo unnoticed.

"lwalkedbythe t.Vincent's r ianSleCardeneveryday on my way to classes.Thenoneday t wasgone. usthatquickly," emarked hristopherromtheJennifer ul lerDanceCompany.The St.Vincent's r iangle ard en tSeventhAvenue betweenCreenwichand 12thStreets, hich contained45,000 square eetof cultivatedspace,offereda brie{ reprieverom thecongestionf Creenwich il laBe-t wasamonS he befterknowngardenshat n1981 ell victim o the bulldozer ndhospital xpansion lans.Another noteworthy ite s AdamPurple's arden f Eden n EldridgeStreetbetweenStanton nd RivingtonStreets n the Lower EastSideofManhattan.A series { buildings eredestroyednd hat efta sizable tr ip {land.Buttheandwasbeing bused,otused," laimsAdam.Calculatinghatabusedand anbe estoredo erti l i ty tabout he rateof one lot pe. personperyear,Purple imself asalreadyconvertedhree enement ots(aboutI0,000squareeet) nd ntendsoconvert en more.Hisoriental-stylegardenhas lower and vegetable eds,fruitandnut rees, ver 00 rose ushes,and the largest lack raspberry atchopen o thepublic n the City.Thegarden esign,most xtraordinaryroman aerial iew, s of concentricirclesforming double in-yan8n hecenter.Complementinghe aestheticsf thegardensAdamhimself ,lad na purple,tie-dyed utf i t icycl ing nhiswaytoorfromCentralPark o fetch horsemanurewhichhe useso ferti l izehegarden.nthreeyears, hat hasalreadyamountedto six ons.AdamPurple ontendshathis Carden f Eden s more hana


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garden;t is a work o{ art.That heSarden itson real estatewhich isdesignatedor housings nsiSnif icantcomparedwith the valueof his gardenart.Despitehe nternationalcclaimorPurple'sCardenof Eden, he City eyesAdamPurpleassimplyaquatter andhe is. He has neverbothered o obtainthe equisite reenThumbnedollarayear ease hat would make hisBardeningffortsegal.Now that heCitywants o build ow-income ndartist ousing n hissite,Adamwil l beforced o leave.Arguing, the Citywantsto destroyhe people'sud" Purpleproclaims,lt is hepeople ersusCity Hall."Butevenn situationsheretheresalegal ease,heCity s taking ack helandwhich hepeople ave ult 'vated."Peoplehave nvested otsof money,time,and alent n Ruppert reen.Whytake t away?We have otsof buildingsthatneed emodelingr replacinS. hynotdo somethingbout hem?Pleasesave urSarden/ uppert reen,"writesCora Cist, a memberof the threatenedcommunity ardenn Yorkvil le,community n Manhattan'spperEastSide. hegarden, hich hasproducedabout320 bushels f freshvegetableseachyear orover70 local esidentsfor more hana decade,s now slatedto become luxuryhigh ise ondo-miniumand ederallyundedhousingfor he elderly.Cora adds n her letterabout RuppertCreen, All of us cannot f ford nevening n the own.Sowe gather urfamilyand riends n a hot summerevening, repare picnicandgo totheBarden.here mong hevegetables

and beautifullowerswe enjoyawonderful evening.Are you goingto deprive s of this?"Civitas, neof the moreactive ocalgroupsengagedn neighborhoodpreservationn the UpperEastSide,asallied itselfwith the RuppertCreenCommunity ardenersnd i leda suit oblock hedevelopment. r iSinally,extradensityhad beenadded o thethree locks f owering uildingsouthofthe garden, ecausehegarden lockwas o be developedas a one-storyschool.When heschoolwas o ongerneeded,he City decided o develop heblock or high isehousinS,laimingthata fourthblockof high-riseapartmentsouldnothave nynegativeimpacts n the neighborhood.ivitasand he Ruppert reenCommunityCardeners isagree.Shelly ti les, residentf theRuppertCreei Community arden, xplainsthat the communitygroupwas startedbefore he networkof technicalassistanceroups egan.BeforeheCitybeganOperation reenThumbn I978,thegrouphadobtained fivedollaramonth ease rom the Department fRealProperty. hey aterborrowed oolsfrom he Council n the Environment'sPlant-A-Lotrogram, nd eceived lantmaterials nd fencing rom differenttechnical ssistanceroups.Theymadeus eel ikewe belonsed," t i lesexplains. hat s,unti lnow,when he$10 mil l ionprice agplaced n thegarden endershe easemeaninglessandputsan end o theirgardeningefforts.Across own from the RuppertCreenCarden,on West 89th Street,he WestSideCommunity arden ould have


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l0 Tom Fox, Towards he Creati.,n { a NcwYorkCityOpenSpace askForce. 'N. ighborhoodOpen spaceCoalition,New York,1942.l l ' Projedinventory981, he ru5tforPublicLand,New York City


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CHAPTEROUR:THECARDENERSSPEAKOUT


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rhe bo!.t' ol worl rl th! l\.:r 5rd. (:onrdrunittCr.lret t, f,1.nh.rlar


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Why PeopleGardenPeopleexpect o seegardens n acountry oad r a suburbanlock, ut nan urbanenvironment,ardens resomethingpecial- hecommunitygardenersavehad o put up with al lkindsof restrictions,egulations,ndrequirementso plant heirseedsn soilthat s mostly r ickand ubble eftoverfrom ears fdemolit ion.obrinSife oa city street s a totally differenterperiencerom hatof simply lantinga garden.t meansrustinghatover heiayers f rubbleand he semblancefdecay l ivingenvironmentan8row,"We saw hat hegrass ouldgrow.Andso we juststarted igging ndclearing.t wassobeautifulhatwe ustkeptgoing,"says Sardenerrom heBronx. aluiero rabajara tierra. l ike

working heearth." we startedheBardeno getout the rats." "l garden oert, to feed myself.""We wantedmorebeautyfor eopleoseetheovelinessofCod'screation," ays nother.Melvina ohnsonrom he(luincyBlockAssociationomments,Oncethey oredown hosehouses e thoughtthedemolit ion itewouldbecomeg.rrbageump.We thoughtheywouldbring arsike hey o and taftf ires.heneighborhoodtarts oinS own whenyousee arbage. ou ose omuch.Thatwaswhy when heystarted heBarden,thought t was the best hing that theycould havedone.People ot ogetherohelp heirneighborhood."In heonce ashionableoney slandsection f Brookiynhere renowover27,000 residents ho are orced o dowithout imple ecessitiesikea nearby

supermarketo buy reasonablyriced{oodor a laundromato wash heirclothes. ccordinSo JerryMcNultyoftheConeysland ommuntyCenter,l tisgoing o akealot o putConey slandback ogether gain."When LaPlacitaardenClubofConey slandwon the Moll ie ParnisDress pYourNeighborhoodwardortheircreation f a combinationvegetablefflowerBardenbetween wobuildings,t brought ignity o theneighborhood nd to the residents. hesuccessnspireda secondgarden,LaPlacital, fol lowed y thedevelop-ment f evenmore ommunity ardens."Therearesti l l35-50acres f fal lowland eft n Coney sland,"McNultycomments.lt isgoing o takea lon8time o useup all the and hat'sbeen bandonedn hearea." nConeylsland,hecommunity ardensreonlya start. ventually,he esidenlsant oseemerchants eopen he storesandmoderately ricedhousing onstructedon someof the abandonedproperty.ConnieLesold's otivationorstartinghe Franklin venueShuttleCardenn Brooklyn asnot o preserveopen space,but rather, o save heFranklin venueShuttlerombeingclosed y theCity.For esidentsf rhearea, he Franklin venue huttles heonlyconnectionetweenheA train ndthe D train.Theclosing f the shurtlewouldcutoff housandsf peopleromother partsof the City.TheneighborhoodesidentsormedSroup ndbegan leaning paroundhethreatenedhuttle tations,n arer hathadnot received nyattention inceI910.When hey ound ut hat he andwasnotownedby heTransit uthority,


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b0t by the City, hey aunchedcampaigno obtain heirCreenThomblease nd o start community ardenwhere heFranklin venue huttlebegins ts routeacross own."You betterbelieve hey kept heshuttleopenafterwe took the time toshowthem that we cared aboutourneighborhood,"ays onnieLesold."Not only hat, heyputadditionall ightingn the shuttle tations." oConnie, community ardens notsimplya place o "turn urnips", t i swherecommunilyeaders eetanddiscuss hat o do next or heirneighborhood."l 8ot nvolved ith the El SolBri l lante arden ecausewanted oseesomethingrowing round ere,"saysFlorence ond,a communityorganizer n Manhattan'sowerEastSide.oanPipolo rganized groupofpeople n 1976 o convinceheCity'sDepartment f HousingPreservationandDevelopmentodemolish hatwasleftof a burned-outui lding t 636BarrettoStreetn the SouthBronx.Thelotwasthen leared fthe ubble ndacommunity arden asPlanned ndbuilt-Both he EI5ol Bri l lante ardenandthe BarrettoStreetCardenhavebecomeand rusts. ssistedy heTrustfor Public and,he wo groupsormednonprofitcorporationso preserveheirgardenssopensPace.

The Gardeners'WoesOnce heircommunity arden adbecomea land rust, he BarrettoStreetgardenersere equiredo pay$1,000

in taxes o the City.When the BarrettoStreet lock ssociationppealedo heTaxCommissionnd onvincedheCitythat he axeswere oo high, hatsumwas oweredo $600. Even o, t s oomuch orus opay,"says ipolo. laudeAllen rom heWykoff-Bond ardennthe BoerumHil lsection f Brooklynsalso iredof the arge ebts ncurredeach ear rom heSarden. eexpressesa {eeling imilar o those eldbYFlorence ond,oanPipolo, ndotherswhy should hey have o PaY itypropertyaxesor providing n openspace menityn theneiShborhood?Communitynstabil i ty5anotherproblem or hegardeners.PeoPlemove utsoquickly ere," ays heresaSantiagorom the East1 BthStreetCardenn Manhattan. i l l Raineyromthe Triangle arden n the Bronx ays,"There rea lotoftransientsn hearea.Thatbreeds lackof interest nd heft."Vandalismtrikeshecommunity itesin many orms.MariaAngladarom heYoung People'sEastHarlemResourceCenter emembers,They oreuP hewoodenboxes nd he woodenplanksthatweusedo build hevegetableeds.They ore hemup andburned hemaswinter uel o keepwarm.Some eopledestroyed he veSetablesefore heyBrew."A gardenern he Bronx ecalls,"l t was hesenior i t izenshat ook hevegetable.hekids ook he ence ndmadea bonfire."The majorityof the gardeners, owever,arenot affected y vandalism.Peopleooking ut heirwindows, idson heblock, nd hePolice epartmentlookoutiorthe ommunity ites- ngeloCerone romBrooklyn ays, A guycame romCreenThumbndsaid,


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'We'rewi l l ing o putup a chain inkfence. 'We old him don't bother.Wedon't haveproblems ith theft." oanPipolo sserts,l f there s otalinvolvementrom hecommunity,henno onewil l bother he Barden."

Sowingthe Seed"l worked eryhard, arryinS lotot

heavy ricks, ndalmost rokemyback.We fi l ledplastic uckets i th waterandcarriedhemacross 4thStreet.But don't really onsidert work. tis ikegivinS irth o a baby.Anythingwe couldmake omealive,we havedoneso," saysFranCapalonoromtheTunnlCommunity arden nWest 34th Streetn Manhattan.Othervoices rom hegarden:"We try not o spend nymoney.""Youdon'tneedmoney; l lYou eedisa pair fhands nda back o bend."

"A small rouphat sBoingowork sbetterhana large roup hat s only

' 'Thegarden asa goodkindofneighborlyffect. eople top ndaskme how things regoing-"" 1vhusbnnclomes romdownSouth ndwc love arminB- t f irst t\ \ ashardgettingmorepeople utthere n thegarden. eoplc eeyou\\ 'orkin! iandhey an't el ievehat neggplant i l l Brow n city soil ."

Reapinghe HarvestThe reasons hy thegardenersstruSgle ith CityaBencies,el iotiatewith realeslate evelopersndbreaktheirLrackso cultivate ndpreservetheirsmallplots f vegetablesndflowers remany,To anyonewhoseneighborhoodlready rovidesrecreationalndaestheticmenities,rwho ives n anarea hat snotprone o

vandalismrtransients.rn area hi


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thecity kidsnever awa tomato rowbeiore."DannySoto romEast 61stStreetnthe Bronxmakeshiscomparison,"There rea bunch ifundedagencjesthat8ethundreds f kidsand hey8otnothingor hem o do.Thekidsare nthebasementi lday ong eadingomicbooks.Thcise gencypeopleget undedfordoinS othing. hekids ove o workin thegarden. hey ove o get heirhands irty."MarieLiquerdelloasa small ardenin herbackyard n E.rstoth StreetnBrooklyn here hehas aught dozenneighborhoodidshow to garden_ hesays, l t keepshemoccupied.t givesthemsomethingo do. Somethingolook orwardo. Theyhave o planandthinkahead. heywatch heweathereveryday. heyarealways xcited., ,Manyof thegardenersay hat hekidshelp ookout or heSarden.,That

iswhat t sailabout. eachinghekidsthat ooddoesn't ome romsuper-markets lone,"saysEddie acewellfromBrooklyn.When hey ealizethat, heywon't et anyone earupthegarden.""The mainbenefitromgardeningsin the summenime.he oodbil lsarecheaper. n tomatoeslone cansave$85bygardening,"ays lorence ond.loan Pipoloadds, The BarrettoSrreetgarden anaugment 0 famil ies ithfreshproduce."Some ind t therapeutic,therschallenging,thensocial, thefseconom;c.But rnostlyt tastes ood,,,saysKim Estesrom heAlleypondEnvironmentalentern(lueens.,Withall he supermarketselocatedut ofConey sland,he gardens ive hem

food they can afford," says erryMcNulty.He adds, ,Butthesocialaspect f thegardenss sti lJhebigSestenefit."ThePinkerton arden t heMadisonSquare oysClubon 29thStreelnManhattansopen o the publicand thasa ful l staff hatprovides anyoutreach rogramsor hearearesidents.hegarden ttracts anydif ferent inds f peoplewho enjoybeinB here ear-round.,1don,tknowwheretheywent before he gardenopened," aysSara evine, neof thegardenstaffpeople."l thjnk hegardenmadepeoplemoreawareol theirown community,, ,aysSusanMoore romEast2th StreetnBrooklyn.We talk o eachothernow,there s a sense f accom lishmentndcommunrty r ide." , l t is ikepuertoRico. heair sdif ferenl_t sqLriet, , ,ayothers. onnieLesold ums t up,, ,WehaveodeaJwithach ther ikehumanbeings own here n thegaden.,,


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CHAPTERIVE:PULLINCTOGETHER


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P.vl ,n.l !.r.1er vJplxie^ rrre!'rg rhe ,...1|of ope, jpr.e al New tor( Cn r b!./8el her,',3!


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Let YourVoicesBe Heardwhen the Neighborhood penSpace oalit ionNOSC) eard hatcommunity ardensndparkswerebeing hortchangedn theCity'sproposedudgetor 982, hey ecidedthat omethingramatic ad o bedone.Although therCitydepartmentserebeing sled o takea 12 percent ut nfunding,he CitywasproposinSoreduceheallocationor tsopenspace

Sreeningrogfams y 74 percent- henewbudget ouldhave l iminatedheCity'sOperation reenThumb rogramaswell as he nterim ite rnprovementandCleanngandCreening rogramsfthe Depaliment f HousinS,Preservationnd Development.hisamountedo a $1.35mil l ion eductionin funding or greeninSrograms.AlthoughheCoalit ion greedhat heseCityprograms adbeen elativelyine{fective,hey elt hat rasticutbackswould hamper uture effortsby thecommunitieso takecontrol f vacantland n theirneighborhoods.OperalionCreenThumb had just been e-staffedby experiencedrofessionalsnd herewerealiernativeso the other woprograms.TheCoalit ion roughtogetherseveralmember ;roupso devise nalternativerogramo the City'sproposed uts.They presentedheoption o hCi tyPlanninS epaftment,aselected ndappointed ff icials eredelugecly letters ndphone alls. hegroups skedhree f the BoroughPresidentso pLrt 100,000 ach ntotheirdiscretionaryudgetso fund analternatrverogram.

Just saSreementor he$900,000seemedassured,he night before heBoard f Estimateearings,heCityPlanning epartmentnd he DeputyMayor'sOff iceput pressuren theBorough residentso drop heirrequests.rooklyn ropped t.Manhattan roppedt. ButStanleySimon, he Borough residentfthe Bronx, idn'tgive n. He knewthe reputationf the BronxFrontierDevelopment orporation,neof theCoalit ionmernber rganiz;tionsinvoivedn developinghealternative,and rustedhat heywould runagoodprogram-Carrying hovels, oes, ndrakes,communityiardenersoinedwith theParkCouncil 's Friends f the Parks"groups t the hearingshe nextday ospeak n behalf f thegreeningprogramsnd againsthe reductionnthe ParksDepartmentudget.One ofthe members f the Board f Estimaleturned o another ndsaid, We're

8ivin8hemmorepolice, roreiremen,andall of these eople rehere alkingaboutpafks!What's oingoni"Asa result f theirac

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Struggle for Space